A Different Kind of Barrel Scum
by kKaiLee
Summary: Kaz thinks he has everything figured out. But the monsters are rising, and trouble is brewing, and there are people waiting for the right moment to strike and take him down. I DON'T OWN SIX OF CROWS.
1. Chapter 1

Two tables down from Kaz, Callie dealt cards with expertise. Her brown hair stopped at her shoulders and her green eyes were focused on Kaz's table. His pale hands held the cards comfortably but she spotted the little slips his fingers made to deal Jesper into a corner. The chatter in the room held an eerie sense of comfort as Callie knew that as soon as the clock chimed, Kaz and Wylan would be well on their way. Her tunic and breeches were beginning to feel suffocating in the heat of the room, it clung to her arms with every movement she made and her breeches felt foreign and stiff.

She paid no heed to her table, only occasionally checking the hands and her deck. She knew exactly who had which cards. She saw Kaz begin to rise and she began to do the same. She cleared her table as Kaz disappeared with Wylan. As she headed out, she saw the flash of Jesper's revolvers as he set them on the table. She picked her coat off of the coat rack and despite the comfortable cold, she slipped it on.

A small smirk settled on her face as she entered the war zone that was the Barrel. She blinked the green tint out of her dark blue irises and pulled off her wig, letting her hair fall down her back in waves. She slunk into a deserted alleyway and pulled a simple black dress from a hidden cubby in the wall. The hem stopped above her knees and the sleeves were loose and short.

She preferred a dress to breeches for the extended range in motion. She didn't understand how other people did it. Fabric clung to everything and restricted your muscles from their full movement capacity. Her sleeves were airy and light, setting her arms free of her heavy coat and providing just enough layers for a chilly night.

Her coat became a cloak that sat on her shoulders and she clipped her knives on the belt at her waist. She pulled her ash brown hair into a braid and flipped her hood over her head. A gun was secured beneath her armpit and above her hip. Kaz and Wylan would be away for the next few hours. That meant they had the whole barrel to themselves.

She almost skipped out of the alley but she slowed her steps. She forced her feet to make a sound every time they hit the floor. If this was any other day, she would be scanning the rooftops and straining her ears for any sign of Inej, but not tonight. The Wraith wasn't going to be a problem.

Near silent feet and a shadow caught her eye. Anika, one of the Dregs. Close to the wall, another figure followed her, Pim. Their pockets were heavy from a job and Callie smiled. They were making it too easy to jump them.

She readjusted her weapons between her back and her cloak. She slipped into the shadows and waited for them to pass her. She picked up a rock and felt its weight. By the look of Pim's coat, she had about one thousand _Kruge_ in her pocket and Anika had about the same. Callie struck once Pim and Anika were a couple paces in front of her. She switched out Pim's _Kruge_ for a rock and Anika's for another one. She returned to the shadows and only emerged once Pim and Anika were out of sight.

"Cal," a voice hissed and Callie spun around. A dagger was in her hand and pointed toward the voice. "Relax, it's just me."

"Zion?" Callie asked into the darkness and gripped her dagger tighter. "Show yourself."

"Ouch," Zion faked a wince and stepped into the light. His hood cast a shadow on his face and his gun was pointed toward the sky since his hands were up. "You don't believe me?"

"No line," Callie tested and eyed his gun.

"No crime," Zion rolled his eyes and flipped down his hood. Callie relaxed and sheathed her dagger.

"Don't scare me like that," Callie snapped and turned her back on him. She only took a couple steps before Zion fell into step next to her. "You don't know if anyone leaked."

"What? We have the whole Barrel to ourselves tonight," Zion waved his hands around him. "Brekker and his team are back and busy, and we're back to leeching off of them."

"And everything returns to normal?" Callie's tone was sharp and she glared at him. "We're not making a difference here Zi. We're here to run this place to the ground. Kaz, Pekka, all of them. We're going to build an empire from the darkest part of the Barrel."

"And who will rule said empire?" Zion challenged and Callie grabbed the collar of his shirt. She slammed him into the brick wall and his skull bounced off of the stone.

"We will," Callie growled and released him. He fell to the ground and picked himself up slowly. She fingered the stack of two thousand _kruge _in her pocket and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"No need to get your panties in a twist," Zion mumbled and straightened his collar. Callie chose not to hear it.

"I've already got enough _kruge_ to last a couple months. Tonight's when we can finally let loose without Kaz or his phantom around. Let's do some damage," a smirk settled itself on Callie's lips and she slipped into a grate that was slightly ajar on the street.

Zion followed her no less gracefully and her feet found the comforting cold of stone. Lanterns lit their way for a couple paces and she found an eclipse mark etched lightly on a stone. She pushed on a stone at eye level. It swung back at her horizontally and she ducked and rolled into the wall under it. The stone gave and spun on an axis vertically. Zion rolled in after her and she felt him come up beside her.

Another wall and a couple swinging stones later and she was wrapped in the comforting warmth of fire. She stood in the doorway as the rest of her gang played a five person game of Duces. Her two girls were the first to notice her.

"Tala," Sonia paused and nudged her twin with her elbow. "Tala."

Tala raised her head and met Callie's dark gaze. "Cal."

Everyone froze. They looked from Callie to Zion, then back to Callie. Renny was the first to speak. His dark hair and pale skin looked even more contrasted in the firelight.

"Callie," he cleared his throat. "Back so soon?"

"The Barrel is ours," Callie said and everyone dropped their cards. They moved as one, shedding unwanted layers and grabbing their weapons. "Brekker and his posse won't be bothering us for the next two hours."

"Tala," Callie turned to the dark haired twin. "You're our firepower."

Tala smiled in triumph and snatched two firearms from Renny's grip. She dumped her lockpicks in his open palms and winked.

"Terrance, you're with Ashton. Zion's with me. And Sonia, you're our eyes tonight," Callie said and gazed at her ready crew, their card game lay forgotten on the table. "We're going to make them burn one day. Every single one of them. But tonight, we're going to cause some trouble."

Zion cocked his gun as they slipped beneath the revolving stones.

"Never sleep," Callie said as they began to enter the Barrel.

"Never rest," everyone replied and they split up. The heist of the night was just beginning. Zion and Callie traveled along their route briskly, their breaths in sync and their steps in time with each other. Zion locked eyes with Callie and she ran a finger along the hilt of her dagger.

"No line," Zion mumbled and they caught sight of their destination.

"No crime." Callie smirked as she spotted everyone in their position. Tonight was theirs; nothing and no one could change that.


	2. Chapter 2

_Three months later_

Dark clouds were above her and water drenched her hair and her dress. The cold seemed to freeze her blood but she was used to it, spending a year in Ravka with only a blanket to keep warm did that to a person. The alley below her was dark and wet from the rain. Callie lay on a edge of a rooftop watching the Barrel. Her legs dangled over the side and her back was propped up by a chimney. The chaos from the plague was dying off but the city was still shaken.

The soft click of a cane broke her from her reverie. She peeked over the side of the roof and her heart skipped a beat.

Kaz was waiting in the alley. She pulled up her legs from the edge of the roof and crouched on the balls of her feet. Whoever Kaz was waiting for appeared on the other side of the alley. Kaz made his way toward them and Callie followed him from the rooftops.

His spider was crouched on a roof a couple buildings down from her. Callie squinted and she saw that Kaz was meeting with a middle aged man.

"Mr. Brekker," the man said with a thick accent Callie couldn't quite place. Kaz tapped his cane with a finger impatiently, giving off the perfect impression of someone who had better things to do. "There's a new gang leader in the Barrel."

Callie stiffened slightly. They tried to keep a low profile but they might have been found sooner than she thought they would.

"There are seven of them," definitely her gang now. The man continued, "they are run by a girl. Her name is Callie. She is a year your junior and looks Fjerdan; however, she is not. She is more deadly than your Wraith."

Callie saw Kaz stiffen and his eyes flicked to where Inej would be crouching, watching the exchange.

"No one is better than my Wraith," Kaz said, a muscle twitching at his jaw.

"Then do this job for me," the man said and leaned in slightly. "Kill her, and her gang if you have to. They can run this city to the ground and burn it before you have the chance to light a fuse."

"I don't do jobs for free," Kaz said and made to turn the other way.

"Seven million _kruge_," the man said and Kaz paused.

"I made the mistake of taking a job," Kaz turned away even more. "I will not make the same mistake."

"Ten million, upfront." The man tried again.

"Fifteen million," Kaz turned back around. "Upfront."

"I can have it delivered to you tomorrow," the man said and held out a hand for Kaz to shake. "The deal is the deal."

"The deal is the deal," Kaz agreed and shook the man's hand. Kaz disappeared from the alley and the man's gaze flicked to the Wraith. She froze and let her knives flash in the dim light. The man looked away and retreated down the street.

Callie glanced at the retreating figure of Inej, and the man. After a moment's hesitation, she dropped from the roof and landed in the alley. She shadowed the man and stopped when he entered a Tailors' shop. That man could be anyone.

She watched the building until the sunrise replaced the moonlight. No one came in or came out.

OoOoO

"I want your eyes and ears to catch any sign of Callie," Kaz said as he was walking toward the Slat. Inej was trailing him and he could feel her hesitation.

"You're not going to kill her yourself, are you?" Inej asked and Kaz paused.

"I'm not. You are," Kaz replied and sighed. "But not yet. I want to know her strengths, weaknesses, allies, enemies, everything. I want to know why you haven't picked up on anything and why we don't know anything about her."

Kaz felt her leave and mentally cursed himself. He felt less secure without her at his back, and though he'll never tell anyone that, he felt more comfortable when she was near. The thought of something slipping past them didn't sit well with him. He entered the empty Slat and limped up the stairs to his room.

His hand hovered over his doorknob. His door was slightly ajar, he was sure he closed it before he left. He drew his gun and cocked it before swinging open his door. It was empty.

His eyes did a full survey of the room and his eyes fell upon his bed. His sheets were slightly disturbed from the way they were this morning. His door, his bed…

Realization fell upon him and he limped down the stairs as fast as he could. He rushed into his office and saw multiple files and papers shifted. To the untrained eye, it would seem like nothing changed. But little things were changed like the positions of the paper that Kaz's eyes caught. He scanned each paper and couldn't quite place how they were all connected.

Quiet chatter reached his ears and Kaz checked each lock and window. They showed no signs of picking or forced entry. Whoever this was, they were good.

Deciding to tend to his throbbing leg and think on it in a more comfortable place, Kaz made the trek upstairs again. Someone got past him tonight. Nothing showed any signs of tinkering, but Kaz knew how to get in and out without anyone noticing. If he knew, others must know too.

Only the thought of fifteen million _Kruge_ let him sleep soundly that night.

OoOoO

Kaz had himself tailored to look completely different and stared in shock at the hand he did not deal. The dark haired man lay down a straight flush that beat Jesper's full house. The pale skinned lady who was seated on Kaz's left let out a frustrated groan.

"Come on now," the lady sighed as the man next to her collected his pot. "I've already put too much into this game to lose it all!"

"Anti up Cal," the man teased. "Deal another one."

"But this is the last one," Cal warned and Kaz dealt again. Cal was an odd name for a woman to have. Perhaps it stood for something. Inej was spying in the city, Jesper was helping Kaz scope out the gambling centers. Kaz's _Kruge_ arrived this morning with a note tipping off this gambling spot. The lady's hair was a rich brown and her eyes were the color of the sky on a cloudy day. She didn't look Fjerdan at all.

Kaz shared a glance with Jesper. This was the first they heard of the lady's name the whole night.

"Cal is a strange name for a beautiful lady like yourself," Jesper commented and Cal let loose a melodic laugh.

"Cal was a very popular nickname where I grew up. It's short for Callie," Cal continued. Jesper and Kaz shared another glance. Could this be her? "It's not as common here, but after people from my city came here, it's become much more common among teenagers."

Did Kaz miss something while they went to the Ice Court? Either that, or this would be a lot harder than he thought. If there were more teenagers named Callie in Ketterdam, it would be harder to pinpoint the gang leader.

Cal threw down her cards in a celebratory burst of energy. A royal flush. Another hand Kaz did not deal. Someone at this table other than him was controlling the game. The dark haired man sighed and threw his cards face down on the table.

"Nice meeting you all," Cal nodded to Kaz and Jesper asks she stood up. "But I'm cashing out while I'm ahead."

"Nice seeing you again Callie," the man said and smirked. He leaned back in his chair and glanced at her pile of chips. "Heard your gang is doing pretty well, caught a couple thousand _Kruge_ off of Brekker."

Jesper stiffened. No one took from Kaz and got away with it. He fingered his revolvers, but he did not shoot.

"Sure did," Callie winked and Kaz noted every single inch of her face. "Didn't I Kaz?"

Kaz's hands went deadly still over his deck of cards. Callie's gaze was fixed on him and seemed to pin him to his seat. Jesper shot her heart. It whizzed by her and shot the table next to her, leaving a hole in a gamblers chair. People panicked and Jesper stared at his guns in shock. He missed.

Callie flashed a smile and became lost in the frenzied crowd. Kaz jumped onto the table and surveyed the crowd. He lost sight of the brown haired lady. Jesper pushed and shoved his way through the gamblers, but he could not find Callie. The gang leader was gone.

OoOoO

Renny met Callie in a local bakery. Her hair was longer and her dress seemed to cling to her body more than usual.

"That went well," Renny said after a moment of silence. He ran a hand through his dark hair. "At least they know we're here."

"I suppose so," Callie sighed. "Someone leaked. One of us did."

"I would never betray us," he said. "I have more to lose than everyone else."

"I know," she gritted and glanced outside. "That's why I'm telling you this. Someone wants me dead. That same person bribed Brekker with fifteen million _Kruge_ to kill me."

"Good luck with that," Renny scoffed and then perked up, "Does that mean we can finally be open now?"

"It does," she nodded and Renny beamed. "And this is our public hideout."

His face fell. "This?"

"Is there another building I could be referring to?" Callie raised an eyebrow.

"No," Renny shifted uncomfortably. "But isn't it a little-"

"A little what?" Callie interrupted. "It's perfect."


End file.
